[5] After the fall of Edea, the only remaining German force that could threaten General Dobell's hold on Duala was at the fort in Dschang to the north.

On 3 January, telegraph cables between Duala and Edea were cut by German forces to impede communications between Allied units.

[1] The French Senegalese force of Colonel Mayer that had taken the Japoma bridge had constructed a ring of defenses around their forward position at Kopongo, approximately 20 miles further inland from Edea.

On 5 January, a German column of 150 attacked the French positions at Kopongo but were pushed back suffering significant casualties.

The French troops defending Edea had constructed a number of entrenchments and fortifications surrounding the town in preparation for the German attack.